Sony permenantly blocks PS5 consoles giving PS4 players access to PS Plus Collection

Sony has taken out The Banhammer for PlayStation 5 players who are giving last-gen players access to the PlayStation Plus Collection. 

Originally thought to be Sony’s answer to Xbox Game Pass, the PlayStation Plus Collection is an addition to Sony’s monthly online subscription that grants PS5 players access to a selection of beloved PS4 titles. However, Sony doesn’t want any PS4 players without a PS5 accessing this collection.

So, obviously, PS4 players accessed the collection. By signing into a PS4 account on a PS5, the next-gen perk automatically unlocks as a cross-gen addition to a user’s account. This means that anyone with a PlayStation Plus membership can get access to the 20-game collection just by signing into a friend’s console.

As reported by VGC, eBay accounts immediately began selling access to the collection for around £5. Sony was, unsurprisingly, not very happy about this.

According to Twitter user Zhihuwong, backed up by forum posts, Sony started banning “thousands” of PS5 accounts who were giving players access to the subscription service.

“Thousands of PSN accounts have been banned, and according to community discussions, these accounts are concentrated in HK(@PlayStationHK ), and have in common the receipt of Sony’s PS Collection service for PS Plus, which contains serveral PS4 games for free,” the Twitter user posted.

Thousands of PSN accounts have been banned, and according to community discussions, these accounts are concentrated in HK(@PlayStationHK ), and have in common the receipt of Sony's PS Collection service for PS Plus, which contains serveral PS4 games for free. pic.twitter.com/ECWPRgVuO2

— ??? (@zhihuwong) November 26, 2020

The PS5 ban permenantly blocks consoles that were involved in the scheme from accessing any network services with the users’ online accounts receiving a two-month ban.

VGC writes that the console ban could be a habit of Sony’s online service in general. PlayStation will reportedly ban a console that sees a high number of accounts logged in on a single day.

Sony’s PS Plus Collection isn’t the company’s answer to Xbox Game Pass, news on that will come later, but Sony is clearly taking the next-gen perk very seriously.